Frozen confectionery products are very pleasurable and prised by consumers. However, producing and distributing ice creams is a costly and non-environmental-friendly process.
In addition, along the distribution chain, the frozen products are subjected to temperature abuse which negatively affects their texture and sensory properties.
Providing a dessert which could be stored at ambient temperature would solve a number of these problems.
Most current solutions consist in water-ice types of products that are frozen at home or in stores. These are not sophisticated ice cream products.
There are also some ice cream dessert mixes available on the market but once frozen by consumers, their aspect is quite simple and not appealing. In addition, it is not possible to form ice cream balls and to serve them in an appealing way as the frozen desserts are too hard to scoop at serving temperature and then melt quickly. These also generally comprise high levels of alcohols and additives to prevent the appearance of an icy texture and avoid microbiological issues.
In addition there is a need to provide high quality products which are shelf-stable at ambient or chilled temperatures and which, when frozen and consumed, have excellent organoleptic properties.